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UV Phototherapy Equipment – Psoriasis Treatment From Home

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

I would have never thought to purchase equipment that artificially produces UV light since I live in Phoenix, Arizona.  Trying to sell me UV phototherapy equipment would be like trying to sell salt water to professional surfer.  But for some of the colder, darker regions of the world a UV phototherapy machine might come in handy.

Having at least some exposure to sunlight is vital to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  In additional to being healthy in general, medical professionals have observed correlations between UV rays and a drastic improvement to psoriasis symptoms.  Much of the medical community is convinced (based on measurable test results) that sunlight (or the like) suppresses the harmful immune system cells (T-cells) that cause psoriasis.

Thus, if you are in a cold, dark part of the world, it may be to your benefit to purchase UV phototherapy equipment.  In addition to the designs that expose one whole side to UV rays at a time, there are also little hand-held UV emitters that can be used for exposing smaller parts of the skin to UV radiation.

Here’s an idea: Make a portable UV ray emitter that plugs into your car’s lighter so you can sunbath on the go!  If anyone wants to buy this idea from me, send me an email.

What do Antioxidants Have to Do With Psoriasis?

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

An antioxidant helps to prevent the oxidation of other molecules.  Oxidation is reaction by which one molecule takes electrons from another molecule.  This process is facilitated by the presence of oxygen.  Oxidation leaves the latter molecule unstable, as a free radical.  These free radicals spin off, wreaking havoc on other cells in chain reactions that can cause widespread cellular damage.

Antioxidants step in to cut off this process before it begins by allowing themselves to become oxidized instead of any other surrounding cells.   Antioxidants are more prone to loose their electrons than the other cells around them, which they do without causing additional, collateral damage.

Common antioxidants include: Vitamins A, E and C as well as Selenium and other herbal supplements.  The body also creates its own antioxidant enzymes.

Connection to psoriasis: Free-radicals, mentioned above, have been attributed to the development of the scaly skin that is a common side effect of psoriasis.

The relationship between oxidants / antioxidants and psoriasis is still being explored.  A connection has been drawn mainly from an imbalance of these molecules in skin affected by psoriasis, including an abundance of oxidants and a dearth of antioxidants.

The goal with antioxidants, as with most aspects of health, is balance.  If you’re healthy all around then your body will have a healthy level of antioxidants.  Taking too many antioxidant supplements with the intention of super-charging your system will most likely cause more damage than good.

Vitamin D and Being All Around Healthy Helps to Fight off Psoriasis

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

Maintaining a balanced level of Vitamin D has been associated with alleviating the effects psoriasis.  This is especially true for people who are vitamin D deficient.  Vitamin D promotes quick healing in the skin, strong bones and helps promote effective mineral absorption in the body.

The effects of balanced levels of vitamin D seems to be related to the generally positive effect that sunlight has on psoriasis.  Exposing your skin to some sunlight every once in a while allows your skin to produce pretty much all the vitamin D that your body needs.

So, while it is probably true that sunlight specifically helps to fight back psoriasis, it is probably also the case (maybe even more so) that sunlight is necessary for everyone (psoriatic or not) to have an all around healthy life.  Having a balanced, healthy life — including exercising, going outside, sleeping and eating healthy natural food — promotes maximum health.  These things also happen to be labeled natural “remedies” for psoriasis.  When you string them all together, it no longer seems appropriate to call them “remedies” — “things we should be doing to stay healthy” might be a better label.

Definitely be cautious about taking vitamin D as a supplement, however, since taking too much will throw off the balance of minerals in your system (calcium and iron in particular) and thus cause a general ruckus in your bodily systems.  But this shouldn’t surprise you since taking too much of pretty much anything will throw off your physical health.  If you must take vitamin D supplements, a doctor will be able to tell you how much you should take as well as with what other supplements (it is not recommended that anyone take vitamin D by itself).

How Does Pregnancy Affect Psoriasis?

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Consistent with the unpredictability that characterizes psoriasis in general, pregnancy may or may not improve your psoriasis.

The main difference between being pregnant or not is hormone levels.  There are a variety of theories about how pregnancy hormone levels might improve psoriasis, but this subject matter still remains relatively unexplored.  You may be able to come to your own conclusions based on these approximated trends:

  • 50% of pregnant women with psoriasis see their symptoms improve
  • 25% get worse
  • 25% stay the same

Most pregnant women with psoriasis see their condition improve during pregnancy and then worsen afterward.  Also, with multiple pregnancies, the psoriasis symptoms in question tend to be the same for each pregnancy (if the psoriasis improved during the first trimester last time, that will most likely happen again, etc.).

As a general rule, psoriasis does not affect a woman’s (or a man’s) reproductive ability nor does it pose a threat to the child after it is conceived.  Of course, it would be a good idea to let your obstetrician just in case.

An aspect of being pregnant with psoriasis that should be handled with care is the medications that you are taking to treat your psoriasis.  Many psoriasis medications can be extremely detrimental to your baby’s health, especially retinoids (relatives of Accutane).  Even regular supplements can be harmful to your baby, so this would be at the top of your obstetrician question list.  Mothers with psoriasis who plan on breastfeeding should also take every possible precaution since these medications can pass on to the baby.